"The Pelicot Case 2.0"

Horror Husband Confessed to His Sister

In the case of the series of rapes in Marchtrenk (Upper Austria), the statement from the sister of the alleged main perpetrator is now available. The suspect cold-bloodedly brags about how he sold his wife (39) for 500 euros per rape and then killed her.

Laughing, even a little proud, he ran after his youngest sister that day—two days after his wife had met a miserable end. Let’s call the youngest sister of the detained murder suspect “Hanna.” She offered her condolences to him at their mother’s apartment, then just wanted to leave—and she did. What she didn’t know at the time was what the 51-year-old then told her without being asked.

As reported, the Upper Austrian man (51) was not arrested immediately after his wife’s death. No one knew at the time that—the district attorney’s office calls the case “Pelicot 2.0”—it had been a full-fledged series of rapes. The husband, a truck driver, is alleged to have plied the 39-year-old with copious amounts of alcohol, drugged her, and then sold her:

One of those “customers,” who is alleged to have played a brutal leading role in the series of rapes, is also 51 years old. The two men arranged the rapes like business appointments—documented in countless chat logs that are the epitome of human cruelty. The husband particularly enjoyed listening to his wife’s screams of agony from the next room.

The Medusa Network

“Medusa” is a Europol project targeting online networks of men who drug their partners and then sexually abuse them. Investigations by German female journalists have already led to convictions in Austria. Austria has been participating in the Europol operation since August. After five months, 158 victims had already been identified. The actual number is higher. The current case did not stand out. “Without social media and the ability to communicate anonymously through it, this would certainly not exist on this scale,” said Petra Huber-Lintner of the Federal Criminal Police Office.

Two men are in custody, but the investigation is far from over. Additional suspects are emerging in the chat logs. What remains is the mother of a 16-year-old daughter who is now dead. She is said to have suffered such severe internal injuries that there are no words to describe them.